Mental Health for Twins
Hey all so I hardly ever tell ppl I'm a twin on here. I feel like I'm outing myself bc we're a real small part of the population so ppl could creep and try to find me.
But I think the mental health of twins is a really overlooked topic and through my life, studying history and just observing twins around me. We are really prone to anxiety.
So I wanted to create a space for Twins, triplets, etc, if I'm not the only one on here. And hopefully help people who aren't to understand us better.
This is what I know
Historically: twins have been treated like we are freaks for a very long time. Especially conjoined twins.
There is the horrible history of putting conjoined twins in circuses (I have a book abt that in my book suggestions thread if u wanna learn)
The Holocaust twin experiments.
Through the 1900s and 2000s we are finding out more and more of bizarre times where adoption agencies or just parents chose to experiment on twins by for ex never telling them they had a twin to see what would happen, keeping them apart and raising them in certain ways to see what would happen, etc (that's horrible those are our brothers and sisters we are still people it will still hurt)
I'm saying that to show society hasn't always been the most understanding. The world seems to see us in this "fascinated" and sometimes creepy light where they're more interested in what we are than who we are.
Fetisishizing:
Twins and female twins in particular are fetishized not just disgustingly in p*rn, fanfiction, but in tv and general media as well
I cannot tell you how many shows I've watched where men or boys demean twin females. Good shows too. People don't seem to think about it. We're just a joke to them.
This all can help create a sense of anxiety in twins especially in adolescence as they are in social situations more.
And from the beginning in the house or wherever you grow up,
Even if all these things weren't done to twins. We are humans we are connected to our twin since birth, we are going to have a dependency on them.
I have definitely seen twins exhibit anxiety, OCD when having to leave their sibling or even having to be with their sibling in public.
There is such a struggle for identity especially in adolescense.
I know it could not seem that important, but being routinely compared to someone else has indeed shown to be stressful for any person especially girls.
I will put links about a bunch of stuff soon
https://youtu.be/vaqkjjVVlgY
Tamera Hously (from Sister Sister) talk about being compared all the time
@wittySpruce8187
The evil twin cliche is so tired, please stop.
Not only is it ridiculous it adds to the constantly comparing yourself and worrying who is the "better" twin
It also insults the really honestly beautiful connection twins have and implies we can't work together or be friends
PHYSICAL HEALTH OMG
We often share a lot like clothes of course, a room or bathroom.
I've definitely done the bad habit of sharing razors bc that stuff costs money so what are you gonna do
We use to share makeup, brushes, towels sometimes
Friends, that can give you serious illnesses and infections!!!
And I didn't even know this. I grew up with a lot of siblings anyways in addition to my twin so we just shared everything
There's a lot more twins in popular books now yayyy
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2017/05/01/communities-still-reject-twins-orphanage/amp/
So I've been watching the haunting of hill house and idk if the two youngest kids are twins but they shared a room and in the first episode the girl has a nightmare/sees a ghost
So the oldest boy comes in to check on them and he asks why the little boy is awake and he just replies
"Because nellie is awake"
I know it would be hard not to be awake with your sister crying loudly
But that line really got me bc if they are twins I feel that summarizes our relationship really well
I always think that God made me and my sister connected mentally but also so neither of us would have to go alone in anything
I try to express to her a lot that her mess is mine too like her struggle her sadness, ofc I will be in it with her so she's not alone and bc I love her and bc it effects me
We were made like this
But on the other side I think that's where other people may be confused, like if we want separate identities why are we so wrapped up in each others moods, actions, everything
To that I would say how could we not? For starters you love this person, they are your sibling, in my case my best friend, and you have grown up with them every moment of your life you have seen almost all of them so you know how to help them
But also just how could he not be awake? Nellie was awake. That's your person and your loved one but also whatever your twin is doing sometimes you just do
Maybe it's biologically we are the same or we learn to act like them but I know if my twin eats something then I want to eat it
The other month we were both sick and we started sympathetically coughing if she would cough the I would cough if I would cough she would cough, and we knew it was bc of that
I think we did it so that the other wouldn't feel alone but also bc when I heard her cough id remember oh yea, I haven't coughed in awhile I should now just in case
My twin passed away. I can’t find any help
